Redemption
by Intel-wolf1
Summary: Philomena is a new fledgling at the Tulsa House of Night. She is shy and has shut down her voice box. She befriends Zoey and her friends quickly and does her best to help them. But there is something very special about her. Like Zoey she has some of A-ya inside her but she is the one who can decide to forgive Kalona for the wrong he has done. What will she do? KalonaXOC
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hello readers, here is the first chapter of Redemption. Please let me know what you think. Thank you and I hope you enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own House of Night the books belong to P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. I only own Philomena_

CHAPTER ONE

I stopped dead in my tracks as I walked into my dorm room. There was pink everywhere and to top it off there was a huge four poster bed in the middle of everything and in a corner was a small cot type bed thing (not exactly sure what to call it). I groaned internally and prayed that I wouldn't strangle my roommate the moment I saw her. Setting down the items I was carrying, on the little bed, I went to the bathroom and blinked, it was like a spa. In the corner was a very expensive Vicchi shower and then next to it was a Jacuzzi bathtub. I could tell by looking at the towels that they were expensive and on a hook was a cashmere bathrobe. I started to approach it, to touch it, but then shook my head. It wasn't mine, I had no right to touch it. I didn't feel like I could touch anything in the room, but that was impractical.

I shook my head again and turned to the large mirror. I looked at myself, which just by glancing I could tell I was tired—I had bags under my eyes, which was highly unattractive (not that I particularly cared). I slowly and methodically parted my bangs and looked at the sapphire blue outline of a crescent moon on my forehead. I had been marked just hours ago. So now I was a fledgling learning how to be a vampyre at the Tulsa House of Night. The only upside I could see at the moment was that I was away from my stuck-in-the-past parents who believed children should be seen and unheard, and that adult woman barely had more freedom of speech than that.

I let my bangs fall back into place just as a scream sounded in the other room. I ran out concerned until I saw the girl's face. She was angrily looking around the room pushing her blonde hair out of her face. I repressed a sigh, was this seriously my roommate? I could tell she was stuck up, very stuck up. Then she looked at me and our eyes met.

She glared, pointed at me, and shrieked, "You! You could have waited for me to move my stuff! Instead you go and mess up everything!"

I went to where I had set my stuff down and grabbed the notebook with a pen attached to the cover and flipped it open to a clean page and wrote, _Gee thanks for the warm welcome, I feel so at home now, my voice would be dripping with sarcasm not that you would know what that is. And news flash, __**Barbie**__, it was like this when I arrived like two minutes ago! Do not ask about why I wrote it out right now…_ The reason I wrote out all that is that being raised to be seen and not heard had its effects on me. When I was little and I talked when not spoken to I was spanked, so I shut down my voice box.

She read the note and then growled, "The name's Aphrodite. Let's just make a few things clear between us right now. One, I don't care why you are not speaking out loud, nor will I care. Two, this is my room so it's my rules. And three, I don't like the idea of having a roommate so I will act like you aren't here. Capiche?"

I rolled my eyes and turned the notebook so I could write again,_ My name is Philomena. I understand your feelings about this, but we are roommates and we are going to have to find a way to live with each other. I'm too tired to talk this over so I will leave it at that so I can rest._ I turned the notebook around and waited for her to finish reading it. Then I set all my stuff on the floor at the foot of me bed. Then I sat on the bed and pulled off my moccasins, I noticed Aphrodite make a face but I ignored it as I pushed them slightly under the bed. Then I laid back against hard mattress. The bed wasn't comfortable, but my tired body didn't care and before I even had a chance to think I was out.

The next time I woke up the sun was setting, I had slept through a whole day. I sat up and looked around and saw Aphrodite was still asleep on her bed. My back was so sore from the hard mattress, I needed to talk to someone about that. I stretched and felt and heard a series of little popping noises coming from my shoulders and spine. I then got up, grabbed my notebook, and quietly left the room. I walked down the hall to the stairs and just about jumped out of my skin as a door to my left opened.

"Oh my Goddess! I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were there!" the panicked voice said from the doorway. I looked to see a black haired girl standing there covering her mouth with her hands.

I opened my notebook again to the same page as the night before and scribbled, _It's fine just startled me._ I took a breath as a laughter came from behind the girl.

A girl with short blonde curls came into view still laughing, "I bet that's for the hateful hag-bitch, Aphrodite." Then she smiled, "I'm Stevie Rae."

I nodded and turned the notebook around again and wrote, _Like you probably read, I'm Philomena._

The first smiled, "Nice to meet you, I'm Zoey." She too started to giggle, but then sobered up as she came to a realization, "You aren't speaking…I know you said don't ask to Aphrodite, but I am curious. You don't have to give me the long answer."

I thought about that for a while then I thought of the perfect thing to write that wouldn't be a lie, _For reasons I'm not ready to talk about yet, I shut down my voice box a long time ago._

They nodded and didn't question further. Instead Stevie Rae smiled and said, "We were just about to meet a couple of our friends downstairs for breakfast. Want to join us?"

I nodded and we walked downstairs, the two girls were nearly tackled by two others who exclaimed at the same time, "There you two are. We were worried the Hag from Hell stopped you guys!"

Zoey and Stevie Rae laughed. Zoey managed to answer, "No we were talking to her new roommate. Who is definitely not a Hag." They burst into laughter again.

The two other girls looked at me and seemed to be analyzing me. The lighter skinned of the two looked to the darker, mocha-colored skinned and said, "She looks normal, doesn't she, Twin?"

"That she does, Twin. I can't believe she got placed with that hag," the other said with a smile.

Stevie Rae looked at me, "These two are Shaunee and Erin. Shaunee is the darker skinned one. We call them the 'Twins' because they act the same way and share the same thought pattern."

I nodded thinking this was an interesting group. I shrugged inwardly and then wrote, _Hey Shaunee and Erin. I'm Philomena. You can read the above comments if you like._

They looked it over and then started laughing. Then they sobered up and looked at Zoey, "So what's your plans for the ritual?"

Zoey shrugged, "I'm not quite sure yet, I have to do more research. But first I want to eat." She walked over to the kitchen area.

I followed her as I felt my stomach grumble. I quickly wrote, _What is there for breakfast around this place?_ And then I handed her my notebook. I was craving me some eggs, but wasn't sure if there would be any around.

She handed me back my notebook. "Anything healthy. You will be hard-pressed finding any junk food around here," she sighed, turning to face me. And that was when I got a good look at her mark, they were filled in and expanded down her face and neck.

I paused and then decided to ask, _Are you a vampyre?_

To my surprise she laughed, "No far from it. I'm just a very special fledgling. Nyx has gifted me with the affinity for all five elements and these marks are to show I am on the right path." She turned back and got down a bowl and then got some cereal, I looked and it was "Count Chocula".

I opened the fridge and found the eggs and pulled out two. Then I started fry them. When they were done I scooped them on a plate and almost ran straight into Aphrodite, and almost spilling the hot eggs all over her. I quickly took a back step as she glared at me.

Then she shoved past me, "Watch it, mute." She went to the cupboards to look for food.

The comment left me slightly shaken, but I went and joined Zoey and her group of friends at one of the many couches in the living area. They all smiled at me and for the first time in my life I felt like I actually might belong somewhere. The Twins looked at my eggs and told me the next day I should make them some and I nodded. We watched _America's Next Top Model_ while we ate.

_A/N: again thank you for reading and let me know what you think. Chapter 2 should be up soon._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Hey everyone here is Chapter 2. I'm sorry if Zoey's classes aren't right I don't remember her class order I don't have the book easily accessible. Please read and review. And please review nicely, you don't have to tell me you like it but give me some advice to make it better. Please enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I don't own House of Night it belongs to P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. I only own the OC, Philomena. Rayen Autumn King owns the O.C., Stella._

CHAPTER TWO

I walked into my first class, Vampyre Sociology, taught by the school's High Priestess, Nefret. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I had a bad feeling about her. Sure she was all nice and welcoming on the outside, but I can see past the plastered on friendliness. I sat down in a seat as Zoey walked in; she smiled at me and sat next to me. The rest of the class trickled in at different times. Right as class was about to start, Nefret came in almost gliding off the floor. I could see why people were drawn to her, she had power…almost too much of it.

She went right to the front of the room and stood sorta in the center. She let her gaze cross the room, a smile on her face, and then her eyes settled on me, "Good evening everyone. We have a new student. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

My eyes widened, she knew I didn't speak. Then I saw it; the shadows around her squirmed slightly, she had dark plans I could tell. I looked at Zoey, who seemed to know what I wanted her to do. We both stood up and looked at the class. Nefret didn't look particularly happy, but at that moment she was no longer a concern of mine.

Zoey cleared her throat drawing the attention to her, "This is Philomena. And the reason she doesn't introduce herself is because she can't talk, and I don't think she wants to walk around with her notebook to show you her name." We sat down simultaneously, and the room was silent for a minute, and then everyone smiled and waved.

Before the class got too out of hand, Nefret called it to order. She then went about teaching but she didn't give me a review of what they were talking about before now. I raised my hand whenever she turned around, but she didn't call on me. I looked at Zoey who was frowning and then she looked at me and whispered, "I will tell you what we learned later." I nodded and mouthed 'thanks' and she nodded to it.

The class ended and Zoey and I compared our class schedules and we realized we had the exact same one. Next was fencing with Dragon Lankford and Zoey told me I would find out why he was called Dragon. When Zoey helped me explain to him that I couldn't talk he smiled and introduced me himself. The class was pretty fun, but I was really looking forward to the Equestrian Studies with Lenobia. I loved horses and always wanted one of my own. But my parents never got me one, claiming it was just a phase and I would get over it; leaving them with a pasture ornament that they still had to pay for.

When Fencing was over with we went to lunch. I got a small salad with all the fixings and poured on a fair amount of Thousand Island dressing. Then I walked over to where Stevie Rae was already sitting down with chicken nuggets. She smiled and began eating as Shaunee and Erin walked over followed by Zoey. Then a boy showed up and I knew right when I saw him he was gay. Which I had no problem with at all.

He smiled at me, "Well, who is this neophyte?" Causing questioning stares around the table.

Shaunee turned to Erin, "You know what I'm thinking Twin?" She leaned toward her.

"That we should kick him out for using words that no one but him knows the meaning for?" Erin threw in.

I started to scribble in my notebook, _It means a person newly converted to a belief, as a heathen, heretic, or nonbeliever. And I was just converted to a fledging and now follow your belief system._

He threw his hands up in the air, "Finally, some else besides Stevie Rae understands me!" The table broke out in giggles. "Still," he looked at me, "Who are you?"

_Okay Absolum. I'm Philomena_, I smiled at him. He had sounded like that caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland.

He was silent for a moment, "Well, that's a new one. But I can already tell we are going to be great friends."

I smiled and then went to eat my salad. It was fairly silent as everyone ate and then it was time for classes to resume and Zoey and I started for the stables. It was silent for a while as we walked, but Zoey seemed to get tired of the silence and started to babble.

"If you like horses, you will be in heaven in this class! I believe we get to watch Lenobia work with a young colt for a little bit, and then I want to show you Persephone! She's the mare I work with. She is so sweet and pretty…" and it continued like this for a while. I tried to pay attention and then it just got sort of repetitive.

We were almost to the barn when we heard, "PHILOMENA!" I turned, blinked a few times and saw a familiar blonde haired girl and I felt my face break out in a full blown grin. Then I was tackled, "OH MY GODDESS, I'M SO GLAD I FOUND YOU! I'VE BEEN RUNNING AROUND EVERYWHERE LOOKING FOR YOU! YOU'RE HERE AND I AM SO HAPPY I FINALLY FOUND YOU!"

I frowned slightly and gave a look that said, 'Yes I'm here, why are you?' This girl could read all my expressions.

She grinned and lifted her bangs, "LOOKIE LOOK!" She was smiling and acting way younger than we were.

I nodded then tilted her head, 'Who are you rooming with?'

The girl tapped her chin, "No one. I have an empty room—hey we can see if you can switch to my room! I'm all by myself and I heard from these two girls in the dorms—who are like different packages but still act like twins—say you're rooming with a hag from hell!"

I pulled out my notebook, _That would be Shaunee and Erin. They are known as the Twins. And yes I'm rooming with Aphrodite, a snutty rich girl. But her room is really nice and her bathroom is all done up fancy. She has a Vicchi shower. Don't ask about snutty I just came up with it, it's snooty and nutty combined._

She blinked, and then pouted, "You are going to take a fancy bathroom... over rooming with your best friend?" She made a sniffling sound.

_No, I'd rather be out of that room. Everything is pink...but I don't know what Nefret will say..._

She stole the notebook, and starts reading past pages, and then steals the pen and writes. _I KNOW ALL!_ This was our usual code for we will talk later. I nodded and she handed back my notebook. She tilted her head, "So, going to the stables?" I nodded again. "Alright then! Let's go—oh hi!" She finally noticed Zoey. "I'm Stella."

Zoey smiled shyly, "I'm Zoey."

Stella smiled, "Pleased to meet you." Zoey nodded and turned to continue to the stable as I looked at Stella. She nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I missed you too."

I frowned slightly with the look that said, 'you ok?' I was concerned this wasn't how she normally acted.

She shrugged, "We'll write later, ok?" I nodded. "Now I wanna see a horse." I nodded in agreement and we continued down to the stables.

Stella filled me in on the things I missed, like Kelly broke up with Nick. She didn't miss anything that had happened since I was marked. I listened quietly waiting for her to bring up my parents and I knew she heard from them.

When she didn't say anything I looked at her and showed her my notebook after writing, _Anything from my parents?_ I pushed a black strand of my hair out of my eyes.

She sighed, "They said and I quote, 'Remind her that a woman is to be seen and not heard'. They are still the same, and that is never going to change you know that." I nodded and looked down. We were silent for a minute and then she put a hand on my shoulder causing me to look at her, "Hey, you are no longer their daughter. You don't 'have' to be silent anymore. And you can pretend on visiting day." She smiled as I bit my lip and she assured me, "Don't worry about it right now." I nodded slowly. She looked at the stable, "I think I have this class too."

I smiled and clapped. Then she frowned slightly, "And I have the sociology class with Nefret…" I held up one finger, signifying first period. She thought about it for a minute, "I think so…Left my schedule in my room." I nodded and pointed to myself. "You too?" Again I nodded. "SWEET!"

I shrugged and in a voice that only Stella could hear said, "Sorta…"

She sucked in a breath, looked at me, and then grinned, "OH MY GODDESS! YOU TALKED! YOU TALKED! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, YOU TALKED!" I froze for a second my eyes widening, I know she didn't mean to, but the yelling made me want to take the words back. She covered her mouth and said calmly, "I'm sorry."

I blinked and shook myself out of it, "It's fine. Just startled me." Mentally I was jumping around excited that I had actually talked for the first time in years.

She clapped, "I'm so happy I finally got you to talk!" She was practically jumping, I had never actually spoken to her. When we met it was right after I shut down my voice box, and at that time I thought it was for good, but I guess things change.

I smiled and we hugged. Then I pulled away, "Now let's go see the horses!" She nodded and we ran up to catch up with Zoey. I closed my eyes and sent a silent prayer up to Nyx, 'Let me be happy for a while at least.'

_A/N: Thanks for reading Chapter 3 will be posted soon._


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